Of course, these are the same people who are still scratching their heads over why the CAN-SPAM Act has failed to staunch the tide of unsolicited e-mail. They are the same lawmakers whose attempts to curb pornography on the Internet are routinely rejected by the courts as violating the most basic of free-speech rights. And they are the same people whose campaign coffers are regularly filled by the entertainment industry.

As is the case when Congress tries to do something about a problem it can't control, troubled logic becomes epidemic. It started this time with the bashing of college officials as being soft on intellectual property theft.